Keep Achieving:The Impact of Group Based Activity Programmes on Children Who Have Autism and Their Families

Participation in structured activities and physical activity (PA) have been linked to several indicators of positive development such as self-esteem and psychological health as well as greater academic outcomes and lower school drop-out rates. Despite this, 77% of boys and 80% of girls aged 5-15 in the UK also fall below the national physical activity guidelines of 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity per day. Children with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) may be at particular risk for inactivity as they are more likely to experience barriers to participation in these types of activities and motor skills impairments, common in people with ASC, can further limit participation in PA. Studies that have attempted to increase PA in young people with autism have shown reduction in problem behaviours such as inattention and aggression and increase in positive behaviours such as sleep, improvements in quality of life, academic performance and physical competence, and reductions in stress. The primary research aim is to investigate whether participation in a 10-week group based activity programme affects social skills and problem behaviours in CYP with ASC. It is hypothesised that children and young people (CYP) participating in the 10-week group based activity programme will show greater improvements in social skills and a greater reduction in problem behaviours than CYP not participating in the 10-week activity programme (control condition). Participants will be assigned to either the experimental condition (10-week activity programme) or waitlist control group. Participants in the 10-week activity programme will participate in group based activities including; 'pick up and play' sessions, swimming sessions and sport specific sessions coached by local sports teams. The 10-week activity programme consists of 1, 50 minute session per week for 10-weeks. Questionnaire data will be collected pre and post intervention to see if there are any differences in social skil